Hannants http://www.hannants.co.uk http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SN72006 'Biber' German Midget Submarine / kleinkampfbände Biber The Biber was one of the weapon systems developed during the Second World War at the time when the situation on both fronts was gradually becoming worse and worse for Germany. In 1943 it became clear that the Allied invasion would take place soon somewhere on the Atlantic coast of the continent and the German military began to seek and develop new and rather unorthodox weapons to avert the invasion. Along the Neger, Marder and Hai manned torpedoes, also the Biber and Molch midget submarines were to stop the invasion fleet. The original idea of the Biber sub came from Korvettenkapitän Robert Bartels and first prototypes were built and the production took place at Flanderwerke in Lübeck, the development being led by Hermann Bunte. Allegedly, Bartels was influenced by captured British Welman W46 midget sub. The Biber's displacement was 6.6 tonnes, on the surface it was powered by a 32 HP Otto Blitz petrol engine and while submerged, the propulsion was provided by a Siemens SSW GL231 electric motor. The Biber could submerge down to 20m, in emergency to 30m. It could carry either two G7e torpedoes or mines. The hull was so diminutive that its operator (only a crew of one was possible) did not have much space in the conning tower. The Biber prototype, known also as Adam, was put to tests on 29 March 1944, though the tests were not quite successful and several improvements had to be implemented before German admiral Karl Dönitz approved building of further four prototype Bibers and later also the large scale production, which gave a total of 324 Bibers from Flanderwerke, Ansaldo and KLökner-Humbolt-Deutz plants. Bibers were put into so-called K-flottillen numbered 1 to 9, which saw action in the English Channel during the Allied invasion, in the North Sea off Norway, in the Scheldt estuary and also in the river Waal during the attack on the Nijmegen bridge. Bibers did not enjoy much success in the torpedo-carrying role, mine-laying missions suited them better. Some trouble also occured due to the exhaust fumes getting into the operator's station and many Bibers were lost just to this reason. The conning tower lacked in height causing the submarine pilot, who was equipped only with wrist compass, difficulties in finding his way to the target. Moreover, the Biber although being rather manoeuvrable and stable on the surface, was clumsy while under the water. Several Biber submarines were captured during the war, but the Allies did not seem to find interest in them and tested them only very briefly. Some of the surviving machines have been put to display in museums. The kit is 3D designed and injection moulded using metal moulding blocks. The kit's components come on two grey styrene sprues and one with clear parts. The A sprue offers the fuselage halves, B sprue has the torpedoes. The decal sheet brings markings for four overall grey Bibers and one bearing a camouflage scheme consisting of four colours. The latter and also one grey Biber were also decorated with a shark mouth. The rest of the machines in the kit have only numbers on the tower. (Special Hobby sold out November 2023). Price:£11.83 sales@hannants.co.uk http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SN72006 Wed, 08 Nov 2017 14:35:14 GMT http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SN72001 Type XXIII U-Boat. Injection moulded with resin and etched parts. U boot typ XXIII was one of the last submarine types deployed to war by Germans. It was the so-called coastal type. It was equipped with two torpedoes and 14 crewmembers. Submarine Type XXIIIs were designed with respect to low radar profile. That's why the last two sunken ships are credited to submarine Type XXIIIs. The design of this submarine was so advanced that it served as pattern for 1950s Bundesmarine designs of Hai and Hecht submarines. The kit of this submarine was long time sold out but we re-issued it in limited number. The fastest orders will have the priority to the other ones. The kit contains two sprues with plastic parts, resin and photo-etched parts.(submarines) (U-Boot/U-Boat/U Boat/U Boot). Price:£54.79 sales@hannants.co.uk http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SN72001 Mon, 12 Jun 2017 10:14:38 GMT http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SN72007 KFK Kriegsfischkutter During World War II, the German armed forces occupied a huge part of the European mainland. This included the coast from northern Norway to the coast of the Peloponnese and the Black Sea coast in the occupied USSR. This entire coast had to be guarded and defended. The capacity of German patrol vessels, including the captured ones, was not enough for this task. Therefore, based on the requirements of the OKM, the Kriegsfischkutter patrol boat, abbreviated as KFK, was developed. Because the need for these ships was enormous, large-scale production began in both German shipyards and shipyards in occupied Europe. 42 shipyards in seven countries were involved. It was the largest naval project of the Third Reich. Over 1,000 ships were ordered, and 612 were delivered by the end of the war. KFKs were assigned to many Marinegruppenkommando along the entire European coast. Within these commands, they were assigned to the relevant flotillas. They were first deployed in 1943 and fought intensively on all European seas until the end of the war. 554 ships out of a total of 612 built were used in combat and 135 of them were sunk in combat. A large number of KFKs were captured at the end of the war and were used at least briefly in many military navies. After the war, KFKs were also used in Germany during the dangerous mine clearance of the Baltic and North Sea. The plastic model of this ship consists of a total of ten sprues of plastic parts. One of them is made of clear plastic. Decals and instructions are provided for one German KFK. The hull of the kit is 32 cm long and 9 cm wide.. Price:£52.49 sales@hannants.co.uk http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SN72007 Mon, 30 Jan 2017 16:54:18 GMT